A recent version of CCleaner, a favorite software to tidy up computers from those pesky temporary files, was infected with a backdoor hack that collected and transmitted information about the computer. It is disturbing that CCleaner allowed such a breach but they have apologized and assured users that precautions have been taken to prevent such compromises in the future. The affected version 5.33 was available for download between August 15, 2017 and September 12, 2017. Only computers running the 32-bit operating systems are believed to be compromised.

Many of my customers run CCleaner, fortunately, many of them also run Malwarebytes. According to the their website Malwarebytes blocks the IP and domains related to this malware. It will also remove the malicious installer if it resides on your computer. CCleaner users will want to take the following steps.

Open CCleaner and see what version you have:(see below “CCleaner Free”)

If it says v5.34… then you have a post-compromise version and can wait for their next update. It would still be a good idea to run a Malwarebytes scan if you have it, just in case you were running the infected version at some point. (see step 4)

If you have lost your network/internet connection on your windows pc, there could be a simple fix for getting your connection back. Sometimes the drivers associated with a hardware component on a computer will become corrupted and simply need to be reinstalled. Typically, Windows will automatically install the driver for network adapters for you, but you need to uninstall the network adapter in Device Manager to make that happen.

Try these steps to quickly restore your network connection:

Go to Device Manager. You can get there through Control Panel in Windows 7 or by using the Windows search feature in Windows 7 – 10. In Windows 10 you can also get there with a right-click to the Windows start button as shown below.

2. Once in device manager, left-click the arrow next to Network Adapters to display the network adapters on your computer. Ethernet will indicate a wired connection adapter and Wireless speaks for itself. If you don’t know which one you use you can uninstall both and they will be reinstalled automatically. To uninstall a network adapter, right-click on the adapter you wish to uninstall and choose Uninstall from the menu. It will ask if you are sure so indicate that you are, close out of those windows and restart your computer. Windows will automatically reinstall the uninstalled adapter(s) and hopefully your network connection will be restored. If you use a wireless connection you will have the added step of logging back into your Wifi network because this process resets stored Wireless network information.

Our family is having a cord cutting summer. Our youngest child leaves for college in August and as people continue to remind me, we are going to be “empty nesters”. Cutting that cord will be one of the most difficult things I have had to do. However, we recently did some other cord cutting around our place that was much easier than I thought it would be. Audio/Visual equipment is not my thing so I will not be expanding the list of Computer Monkey services to include Cord Cutting assistance, but I’m happy to share what worked for us.

We had a bundled plan with our local cable company that included telephone, internet and TV. Our monthly bill had passed the $250 mark and was going to go up significantly when it became necessary to pay a monthly fee for a digital converter box for each of our televisions. Some of which were rarely used, but were in certain rooms for convenience. Hence, we started looking into cutting the cord.

To replace cable service we had to think about how to get the channels that we wouldn’t want to be without and how to replace them. In order to do that, we would need to get the local channels broadcast over the air coupled with a streaming service of some kind. The streaming service requires a device for delivery. Some smart TV’s have that built in. The TV itself is the device in that case.

To get the over the air channels you need an antenna. We opted for a whole home antenna rather than putting one on each TV. We have a large home and a significant number of TV’s so we opted for the Marathon HDTV Amplified Long Distance Antenna from freesignal.tv. Our house had been wired with coaxial cable throughout, so we were able to replace the cable company line with the coaxial cable from the antenna and the antenna signal was fed to all of our TV’s. We then had to figure out which line was delivering the cable company signal to the modem for internet so we could keep that connection in place. We had a little trouble getting all the channels to come in clearly and had to contact Marathon support, their support was busy and probably took longer than usual but they did return our calls and respond to our emails. I will say that the resolution was actually easier than what they were suggesting. All we had to do, as it turned out, was move the location and direction of the antenna. They thought maybe the amplifiers that were in our original cabling scheme were causing interference, which was certainly reasonable concern.

Now we had broadcast channels. But, in order to get the cable channels we wanted we opted to go with Playstation Vue streaming service. (Others include: Sling TV, DirecTV Now, YouTube TV, and Hulu with Live TV ). The folks at KillTheCableBill.com have an Online TV Channel Matrix (click on image to zoom) to see what services offer the channels that are of interest to you. With each service there are typically varying packages with varied price points — more channels, more money.

So we had all of the channels we wanted, but had lost some of the viewing convenience we had with having a DVR from the cable company. Even with a streaming service, network television shows are considered “on demand” which doesn’t give you live access to network television shows and doesn’t allow fast forwarding when you watch them. Also, we would not have been able to record locally broadcast channels. In order to mirror the functionality that we had with cable, we got a DVR that would allow us to record locally broadcast. We chose the Channel Master DVR +16GB. We opted for this less expensive ($249) model where you connect your own external hard drive rather than the other model ($399) that has a 1 TB drive inside because I can purchase my own external hard drive for $54. As I always tell people when I urge them to back up their data, a hard drive crash can happen at any time. If ours crashes, I’m only out $54 if it is out of warranty. I would rather do that than pay another $399 for the complete unit. The Channel Master is great when coupled with a better quality remote. We had a logitech harmony remote that it works beautifully with, but like many manufacturer remotes, the one that came with the Channel Master DVR wasn’t very good.

Have you “cut the cord”? Please comment below about the products/services you use it may help someone with their decision making process.

Regardless of whether you use The Computer Monkey or another firm to resolve your IT needs, I don’t want you to pay more than you should. There are several things over which you generally have control that can directly affect the final cost of your services. Because support services are typically billed by the hour, most of them involve things that increase the time required to resolve your issues.1. Passwords – Many issues require me or the user to log in to a particular device or account. Issues involving internet service, email, program installations, and routers are all situations when we may need a password in order to proceed. When you do not have a needed password, it delays our work and takes extra time to do a password retrieval or call customer service for the provider. In my experience, lost passwords are by far the most common thing that needlessly increases a tech support bill. The best method I have found for keeping passwords is some sort of card file system that keeps a card (or page) for each account’s information. You want to be able to easily find the account in question and completely replace the old information when something changes.

2. Software License Codes – A related area to lost passwords, is lost software license codes. In order to prove that you own the rights to install and use a particular software application, the company you purchase it from provides a unique license or registration code to you at the time of purchase. If you bought it in a store, it will be in the packaging. If you download the software online, it will usually be in your order confirmation email. Some stores like Amazon will keep your license information for you in your order history, but it is always best to make sure that you keep copies of all of your license or registration codes yourself.

3. Software media – If you get a new computer but you still have software applications from the old one that you want to use or you have a software product that needs to be reinstalled due to an error, you will need the installation media. In the past many products have been on disks, but now many are downloaded as referenced above. Either way, you need to have the installation media available for the technician to use in these and other situations. Depending upon the product, some installation files can be easily and quickly downloaded – anti-virus products, for example. However, for more complex products like Microsoft Office, Quickbooks etc. locating and downloading large installation files for your particular version can be time consuming. Although, I am happy to report that Microsoft has recently made great improvements in this area and now provides a web page that makes it pretty easy to get most versions as long as you have your license codes, ahem! When you download software, keep the installation files and back them up like you do your other important data. You are backing up aren’t you? Please tell me you are!

4. Describing the Issue – It can be difficult to explain the computer problem that you are having but the more accurate and detailed you can be, the faster the technician will be able to determine what is happening. For example, a client says “my computer won’t do anything”. In reality, I have had that explanation mean that literally, the computer wouldn’t boot at all so, yeah, it’s not doing anything. On the other hand, I have also had that description mean that the internet browser wouldn’t go to any websites. There is a big difference between these two problems. If you have been receiving an error message, write it down so that you can tell your technician. Try to describe exactly what you are doing when the problem happens or if it just happens at random times think of anything that may help, such as anything that has changed about your setup. Have you recently added any new hardware or software or did Windows recently report doing an update?

5. Seek Qualified Advice – I find that people and businesses often spend more money in the long term because they make ill-advised or unadvised purchases. That laptop at Best Buy that was only $300 might seem like a good deal, but it isn’t if you hate it three years later and want to get a new one or have to keep taking it in for “tune-ups”. I have had the same computer for 8 years and have no intention of getting rid of it any time soon nor have I had to upgrade it in any way. It’s fast and I use a lot of applications all at one time. It wasn’t inexpensive, but I spent the money where it counted. And, new isn’t always better. I would rather have a refurbished high quality computer than a new piece of junk. Consider getting advice before purchasing software as well. In both cases, you may find that paying $30 – $60 to consult with an expert is some of the best tech support money you have spent.

Most major data breach situations are mentioned in the news media or the company involved notifies it’s customers. However, you still may have missed the news or the notification. There is an easy way to find out if your email address is associated with an account that could have been exposed in a data breach. You simply need to go to Have I Been Pwned and enter your email address to find out. “Pwned”, for those of us who are not up on the newest vernacular, is slang for owned, when used for “defeated” or “bested”. HIBP was created by Troy Hunt, an Australian internet security expert and Microsoft Most Valuable Professional.
If you discover that you have been pwned, don’t panic. Read the information about the breach and when it occurred. You may find that the company involved has already required you to change your password. But, if not I would recommend that you change the password for that account and if you use that same password for other accounts that you change them as well depending upon the nature of the account (i.e. credit card attached, data storage). In addition to checking the current status of your accounts you can sign up to receive an email notification of future breaches associated with your email address. For more information about HIBP, see the HIBP FAQ page.

Yesterday a senior citizen customer of mine called me after she had been to her local Apple store. She had taken in an iPad that had an email issue. The Apple Genius (the name used by Apple for their technical support staff) she was assigned to worked on the problem for about 30 minutes and even sought help from other Geniuses for the problem. The Apple employee finally said that the problem was due to her ATT/Yahoo email settings and wrote a phone number down on a piece of paper for AT&T email support and said they would be able to help her.

My customer went home called the number and spoke with Paul Johnson, who let’s just say, didn’t sound like his name was “Paul Johnson”. He connected to her computer and proceeded to show her all kinds of terrible issues that it had, like “Trojan viruses” but not to worry, he could help her. She would need to sign up for a monitoring service with her credit card. My customer had been a little suspicious before, but quelled that suspicion because the Apple lady had given her this number. The request for a credit card was a giant red flag. Thankfully, she declined the scammer’s request and ended his charade.

But the Apple Genius had given her the number! One problem, the phone number was 888-985-8273 and it had come from an internet search for AT&T Email Support. Do not click on any of these results, but a Google internet search of this phone number reveals a smorgasbord of scam choices. A similar Google images search gives you an idea of how prevalent and legitimate looking the scam lures are. If you need to contact support for any product the best practice for locating the proper phone number is to go directly to that company’s website and be confident that it really is their website. Another lesson is that you cannot always trust the information provided by a person from the Apple store, or other retail establishment, even though they may seem like an authority on the subject.

I was angry and completely stunned by what this Apple employee did, as was the manager of the store when I called him with the details. But, this post isn’t about bashing Apple. I am sure their Genius was genuinely trying to help. It demonstrates how prevalent the scammers are and how easy it is to fall into their clutches. When dealing with technology and web searches for information, always be on guard and keep a healthy skepticism. Feel free to contact me if you have a question about a search result, website or a suspicious email.

Below are some links to articles about tech support scams, how to avoid them and what to do if you fall victim to one.

There have been numerous issues associated with the new iOS 9.3 update, as referenced here by GottaBeMobile and TechRadar. For some users, even iPhone 6, the phone requires them to log in with their apple ID but results in an error that says verification failed because it cannot connect to the iCloud server. Furthermore, in iCloud settings all options are greyed out except “sign out” but that results in a similar error. Some users are reporting that the only way around the problem is a restore. Before you decide that your device is “bricked” and you erase and restore, try checking to see if location services is turned off. It can end up in an off state even if it was turned on when you began the update thus resulting in this confusing and frustrating error.

I hope this easy solution worked for you, but this problem is one where there are numerous solutions depending upon your exact situation. Here are a few other websites that offer some help for the same issue:

Wading through all of the printers on the market can make finding a great printer difficult. Even more so, perhaps, when you need one for the home office. Home office printers typically need to produce better quality and higher output than a printer for a typical home user. In my opinion, the Epson WorkForce Pro WF-4630 is an outstanding All-In-One option for the home office. It retails for approximately $199. The specifications from the Epson website are listed below, but I especially like the print quality and the relatively low printing cost. Additionally, the WiFi Direct printing for tablets and smartphones actually works, which is not always the case with printers who claim this feature. The rear tray can easily handle photo paper and high-quality envelope paper without jamming. Scanning preset options make scanning to the computer more efficient. Lastly, I love the “intuitive” nature of the printer. If the paper size or type for your print job is different than what is loaded or expected by the printer you will be prompted on the screen with a question on how to handle it rather than having to start the print job over.

Several parents I was with for prom pictures were disappointed with what they were getting with their iPhones because of lighting and other issues. Here is a 2015 list of the best inexpensive digital cameras when you don’t want to spend a lot because you don’t need one that often. The results will be better than an iPhone or other smart-phone camera.

The importance of keeping your data safely backed up cannot be stressed enough. We address this issue directly in this post “Frustration And Heartbreak”. But, even the most diligent user who meticulously keeps their data backed up on an external usb device would probably still lose it in a ransomware attack because of the way the malware attacks all connected drives. Cryptolocker and Cryptowall are some of the worst in the ransomware family of malware. Victims of ransomware are presented with a message on the screen that their data has been encrypted. The message goes on to give them a certain amount of time to pay a certain price for the decryption key to free their data from encryption. The dollar amounts and success rates vary significantly. What happens next is as varied as the different ransomware infections. Some people are scammed out of their money and others actually do get a good decryption key. For the majority of ransomware infections, there is very little your tech expert is going to be able to do to save the current installation of your computer. Usually, a reimaging or reinstallation of the operating system is required. However, there are some “fakes” out there that are actually pretty easy to remove – one was mentioned in a previous post. So, always call your tech expert for a diagnosis first. In order to protect yourself from ransomware make sure you have a best-in-class antivirus product and that its remains updated with the latest virus definitions. And remember, one of the best things you can do to protect yourself from all online threats is to have a healthy skepticism about anything you are presented within an email or on a web page.

Update: there is now a Ransomware Decryptor available from Kaspersky that will work on some types of ransomware. They also provide step-by-step removal instructions.

Another step you can take to protect your data is to use an online backup service like Carbonite, for which we are a reseller. Even if your backup runs continuously and Carbonite has backed up some of the encrypted files, Carbonite online backup service maintains the previous backup data for a generous amount of time (it varies for home or business versions). So, in most cases of ransomware attacks, you will still be able to get your data back if you have Carbonite. If you purchase it through The Computer Monkey, you receive free installation and backup restoration assistance. As always be careful where you click and arm yourself against ransomware and its destruction of data. Malware experts predict that the rates of “infection” will only increase as more and more criminals jump on the ransomware bandwagon.